Cessna 180 Skywagon
Single engine piston aircraft with fixed gear built from 1953 through 1981. Serial Numbers 30000 through 53203. The Cessna 180 Skywagon seats up to 5 passengers and 1 pilot.
Specifications
Exterior Dimensions
Wing span: 35ft 10in
Length: 25ft 8in
Height: 7ft 9in
Weights
Max TO weight 1953-56 is 2550. Mx T.O. wt on A-F Models is 2650lbs. Mx T.O. wt on G-K Model is 2800lbs.
Empty Weight: 1,525 LBS
Fuel capacity: 65 GAL
Engine
Manufacturer: Cont Motor
Model: O-470-A/-U (1953 thru 1955 have 225hp O-470-A&J eng. 1956-60 have 230hp O-470-K eng . 1961+ have 230hp O-470- Series eng)
Horsepower: 230 HP
Overhaul (HT): 1,500 Hrs (2000hr TBO allowed on O-470-U engines if new specs are met.)
Years before overhaul: 12
Performance specifications Cessna 180J and K
| Horsepower: 230.00 | Gross Weight: 2,800 |
| Top Speed: 148 | Empty Weight: 1,701 |
| Cruise Speed: 141 | Fuel Capacity: 88 |
| Stall Speed (dirty): 48 | Range: 804 |
| Rate of Climb: 1,100 | Rate of Climb (One Engine): |
| Service Ceiling: 17,700 | Ceiling (One Engine): |
| Takeoff | Landing |
| Ground Roll: 625 | Ground Roll 480 |
| Takeoff Roll Over 50 ft: 1,205 | Landing Roll Over 50 ft: 1,365 |
Click here to view Performance Specifications for each Model
History
The Cessna 180 is a four- or six-seat, fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which was produced between 1953 and 1981. Though the design is no longer in production, many of these aircraft are still in use as personal aircraft and in utility roles such as bush flying.
Development
Cessna introduced the heavier and more powerful 180 as a complement to the Cessna 170. It eventually came to be known as the Skywagon.
The prototype Cessna 180, N41697, first flew on May 26, 1952. Cessna engineering test pilot William D. Thompson was at the controls.
In all its versions, 6,193 Cessna 180s were manufactured. In 1956, a tricycle gear version of this design was introduced as the Cessna 182, which came to bear the name Skylane. Additionally, in 1960, Cessna introduced a heavier, more powerful sibling to the 180, the conventional gear Cessna 185. For a time, all three versions of the design were in production.
Design
The airframe of the 180 is all-metal, constructed of aluminum alloy. The fuselage is a semi-monocoque structure, with exterior skin sheets riveted to formers and longerons. The strut-braced wings, likewise, are constructed of exterior skin sheets riveted to spars and ribs. The landing gear of the 180 is in a conventional arrangement, with main gear legs made of spring steel, and a steerable tailwheel mounted on a hollow tapered steel tube.
Cessna 180s produced between 1953 and 1963 have two side windows, while 1964 to 1981 models feature three side windows, as they use the same fuselage as the Cessna 185. 180s can be equipped with floats and skis.
Operational history
Record flight
The Cessna 180 gained recognition as the aircraft chosen by Geraldine Mock, the first woman pilot to successfully fly around the world. The flight was made in 1964 in her 1953 model, the Spirit of Columbus (N1538C), as chronicled in her book Three-Eight Charlie. The Cessna factory obtained the aircraft and kept it at the Pawnee (Wichita, Kansas) manufacturing plant after the epic flight, suspended from the ceiling over one of the manufacturing lines. It is currently on display at the National Air and Space Museum.
Variants
Cessna 180 (1953-1956) Serial Numbers 30000 through 32661
Four seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 225 hp (168 kW) Continental O-470-A, O-470-J, or a 230 hp (172 kW) O-470-K engine, landplane gross weight 2,550 lb (1,157 kg) and first certified on 23 December 1952.
Cessna 180A (1957-1958) Serial Numbers 32662 through 50355
Four seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-K, landplane gross weight 2,650 lb (1,202 kg) and first certified on 17 December 1956.
Cessna 180B (1959) Serial Numbers 50356 through 50661
Four seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-K, landplane gross weight 2,650 lb (1,202 kg) and first certified on 22 August 1958.
Cessna 180C (1960) Serial Numbers 50662 through 50911
Four seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-L or O-470-R, landplane gross weight 2,650 lb (1,202 kg) and first certified on 8 July 1959.
Cessna 180D (1961) Serial Numbers 50912 through 51063
Four seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-L or O-470-R, landplane gross weight 2,650 lb (1,202 kg) and first certified on 14 June 1960.
Cessna 180E (1962) 51064 through 51183
Four seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-L or O-470-R, landplane gross weight 2,650 lb (1,202 kg) and first certified on 21 September 1961.
Cessna 180F (1963) Serial Numbers 51184 through 51312
Four seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-L or O-470-R, landplane gross weight 2,650 lb (1,202 kg) and first certified on 25 June 1962.
Cessna 180G (1964) Serial Numbers 51313 through 51445
Six seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-L or O-470-R, landplane gross weight 2,800 lb (1,270 kg) and first certified on 19 July 1963.
Cessna 180H (1965-1972) Serial Numbers 51446 through 52284
Six seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-L or O-470-R, landplane gross weight 2,800 lb (1,270 kg) and first certified on 17 June 1964.
Cessna 180I
There was no “I” model Cessna 180.
Cessna 180J (1973-1976) Serial Numbers 52285 through 52384
Six seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-R or O-470-S, landplane gross weight 2,800 lb (1,270 kg) and first certified on 13 October 1972.
Cessna 180K (1977-1981) Serial Numbers 52771 through 53203
Six seat high wing light aircraft powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-U for which AVGAS 100 or 100LL is specified; previous engines were designed for AVGAS 80 (formerly called 80/87), landplane gross weight 2,800 lb (1,270 kg) and first certified on 19 August 1976.
View Cessna 180 Performance Specifications for each Model
